1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a camera system and a method for operating same.
2. Description of Prior Art
In a conventional mechanical pan/tilt/zoom camera system, when a new region of interest is identified, a computer moves the manual camera to view that region and controls the zoom function of the camera in order to frame the new region of interest. On the other hand, conventional electronic-pan-tilt-zoom (“EPTZ”) cameras remain stationary, but the region of interest is culled from the overall image and scaled to fit the display window. Furthermore, the resolution of the image of the EPTZ camera is significantly reduced when attempting to upscale a small region of interest to a relatively larger display. Although MPTZ cameras can provide a full resolution view of the desired region of interest, MPTZ cameras cannot immediately move to the next shot.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a camera system that provides for instant switching between the view provided by an EPTZ camera and the view provided by an MPTZ camera.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the ensuing description of the present invention.